


Do vegetarians even go to McDoanld's?

by Bad_boy_supreme_on_fire



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, McDonald's, Mortal AU, Will's a vegetarian, and Nico is stubborn, he is also annoying, like always, whaat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2015-02-10
Packaged: 2018-03-11 13:12:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3327971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bad_boy_supreme_on_fire/pseuds/Bad_boy_supreme_on_fire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico has run away from home (again) and bumps into Will at McDonalds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do vegetarians even go to McDoanld's?

**Author's Note:**

> OK, I hope Will is not out of character, but I can actually picture him as a vegetarian. also, I wanted him to attend karate because he needs to do something a little badass and brave when he is just gonna be a mortal. I chose karate because they don't do "meaningless" fighting and beating up each other. it's a sport about respect and self defense, and I feel like Will could do something like that. anyway, enjoy :3

Nico made his way into the almost empty McDonalds while desperately searching his pockets for the money he knew had just been there. Damn it. He knew there had been enough for a Happy Meal, but he would have to settle for disgusting McDonald’s coffee. His stomach was hurting badly from lack of food over the last couple of days. He had run out of money this morning, and knew he would have to make his way home soon, but he was not eager to. The only reason he was able to buy anything here at all was because he had stumbled upon some coins in an empty fountain.

Nico knew he would not last another day in his own, but going back to Ann and Mark was not tempting. Not that him foster parents treated him bad or anything, – Ann seemed to adore him, and Nico thought she was one of the best “mothers” he had had – but he still didn’t like it there. He didn’t like it anywhere, because he knew he could never belong in a family like that. He could never make himself stay for very long, and that was why he usually ran away for a while at the time. Still, he had been gone for almost a week now, and that was long even for him. There were posters up around the city, and being returned by the police was not what he was planning. _Tomorrow, I guess_ , he thought.

There was only one other person in the room except for the man working there this late. He stood with his back to Nico, so he only saw his yellow-ish curls and tanned hands. He was wearing a bag over his left shoulder with Chinese text or something. Maybe he was doing kung fu. Nico walked over to wait behind him in line. The guy ordered a veggie-burger and fries. Nico didn’t even think vegetarians went to McDonalds.

The one with the blond hair stepped aside to wait for his order, and he shot Nico a smile when he saw him. For a short moment, Nico was stunned by his face. It reminded him of sunshine, somehow, and the stranger’s smile was beautiful. He was tanned with a few freckles spread across his nose, and his eyes were sky-blue. The only thing that kind of ruined it was a dark bruise on the side of his face, right next to his left eye. Nico quickly looked away and hoped he was not blushing. He returned his attention to the impatient McDonalds employee.

“Just a coffee, please”, he said, and handed him the few coins that had been left in his pocket.

The man gave him the hot liquid, and Nico went to sit by one of the windows in the back. He sat down heavily and sipped his coffee, his stomach remaining unsatisfied. He was tired too, struggling to stay awake now that he was sitting inside in the warmth. He did not notice the blonde guy from the line before he plopped down on the seat in front of Nico, facing him. Nico looked up to see that the guy was smiling at him.

“Hi”, he said.

“Hi…?” Nico answered, a bit unsure about the situation.

Why was he sitting with Nico in a practically empty McDonalds?

“I’m Will”.

“Nico”.

Will was looking at him curiously.

“I’m sorry, but I just felt like I’ve seen you somewhere before. Have I?” he asked.

Shit. He must have seen one of the posters. Nico knew it was a bad move, but he could not help but look down, so he probably looked hella guilty.

“No”, he mumbled.

He took another sip of his coffee while Will started on his burger. Just what he need right now. Someone eating right in front of him. Nico could feel the pain in his stomach intensify, and he struggled to keep his face straight. He could feel Will’s eyes on him. Then, the boy suddenly got up and went to grab a knife and a few napkins. He sat down again.

“I don’t want to seem rude to you or anything,” he started in a soft voice Nico was not used to hear from strangers, “but it looks like you haven’t eaten in days”.

Will cut his burger in half, separating the part he had not taken a bite of, put it on a napkin and pushed it over to Nico’s side of the table. Nico just stared at it, then stared at Will.

“Why are you sharing your food with a stranger?”

“Because I don’t want you to drop dead on the ground when you walk out. Please, take it”.

Nico shook his head, still confused about this behavior from someone he didn’t know anything about except his first name. Will then put down his own half of the burger and crossed his arms.

“Really?” Nico asked, raising an eyebrow at this childish behavior.

“Really”, Will confirmed. “Just take it, please. I can’t sit here and eat it myself now that you’re obviously hungry”.

Nico didn’t do anything.

“If you don’t want to eat it, then answer honestly to this: when did you actually eat real food last time? Coffee doesn’t count”.

Nico decided not to answer, just sighed and accepted the burger. Will’s face broke into a satisfied grin, and he returned to his own food as well. Nico did not mind it was vegetarian, even though that was not really his style; anything would have tasted like heaven right now.

“So you’re vegetarian?” he asked between mouthfuls.

“Not officially. I prefer it, though, but I hate having to remind everyone when I’m eating out and stuff”.

“You prefer it? Why, you don’t like meat?”

Will chuckled.

“That’s not it. It’s ethical principles about the meat industry and because it’s healthy”.

Nico shrugged.

“Ok”.

He had no idea why he was talking to this boy, because he usually didn’t unless people were asking him the questions, but he was curious about Will.

“What happened?” He gestured to the big bruise next to Will’s eye.

“I go to karate-practice. Some guy accidentally kicked me a little too hard in the head when I didn’t block it”.

There was just something about him Nico could not fit into a fighting scene. Will seemed so gentle of nature, even though he knew nothing about him, really. Nico could just tell. He must have been staring, because Will got a little confused look on his face.

“What?” he asked, and Nico shook his head and looked down.

“Nothing”.

Will pushed the box of fries to the middle of the table, gesturing for Nico to take some and started eating himself, too.

“Can I ask what you’re doing here with a cup of coffee when you should obviously be home eating dinner or something?” Will asked him.

Nico didn’t meet his eyes, not eager to share this information with a stranger. Still, he had an indescribable urge to actually tell him – Nico found that he actually enjoyed talking to him. Secretly. He had no idea why; this was not like him at all. He glanced up into the blue eyes looking at him with a mild expression.

“Look out of the window”. Will did, and his eyes soon settled on the poser outside showing Nico’s face with the headline: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY? He looked at it for a while, nodding slowly.

“That’s where I’d seen you before”.

“Yeah”.

They were both quiet.

“Why aren’t you going back?”

Nico had no proper answer to that question.

“Don’t know, actually. I can’t bring myself to stay for very long, so I just leave. Usually not this long, though”.

Nico accepted some of the fries Will had offered him and chewed slowly, looking down in his empty coffee-cup. When he glanced up, the boy in front of him was looking at him, something that might be concern in his eyes. Will did not look away when Nico caught him staring, and Nico was the one who looked down again, blushing. Damn, since when did he blush? He decided to blame his exhaustion, though it might not be the most reasonable thing to blame. No, it was more likely to be the handsome boy who was staring at him, but Nico would never admit that.

“When are you planning to go home?”

Nico thought about the question.

“Tomorrow, I think. I’m out of money, obviously”.

“Why not now?” Will was still looking at him.

“Don’t want to”.

“Where d’you live?”

“Few blocks down to the left. Why?”

Will did not answer immediately, and Nico looked up.

“Want me to walk you home?” he asked. Nico raised his eyebrows.

“Do I want a stranger to walk me home when I don’t even want to go there?”

Will ignored the sarcasm and nodded.

“Yeah. I’m not a complete stranger, I shared my food with ya. I’d worry myself crazy if I knew you were still out here alone, cuz I expect you don’t have a place to stay either”.

“You’d worry about me? Someone you just met at McDonalds?”

“Yeah”.

He seemed sincere, but Nico had a hard time believing it.

“It’s in my nature to worry about people. And there’s reason to worry about you, cuz you’re skinny as a skeleton and tonight’s gonna be freezing”, he continued.

Nico just scowled at him.

“I don’t wanna go home yet, I told you”.

“I’m guessing you don’t want me to call the cops to take you back, huh?”

Nico stood up. He’d had enough of this idiot, handsome or not. He was not going back yet, and he might as well find somewhere to stay before Will could get the police after him.

“Hey, where you going?”

“Away from you and your stupidity. Thanks for the burger”, Nico growled, heading for the exit.

“No, Nico I was joking! Seriously, I won’t call the cops, promise!”

“Will you keep it down?” Nico hissed at him. The McDonalds guy was looking at them strangely. Nico turned away from Will and walked outside. It was cold. He started down the street but heard footsteps behind him.

“Nico…”

“Stop following me”, he snapped, not looking at Will.

“Please, I –”

“Just go away!” Nico spun around to face him. “I told you, I don’t want to go back! I hate it there! I don’t belong anywhere and I never will, just let it go”.

Again, Will was looking down at him in concern.

“What makes you think you don’t belong with your family?” he asked, his voice gentle.

“I don’t have any family”, Nico growled.

“Family are the people you choose, you know. Doesn’t have to be blood”.

“Then I still don’t have any. Why do you think I keep leaving?”

When Will didn’t answer, Nico walked off again, hoping he would not follow. No such luck.

“I’m really sorry I made you upset”.

Will came up by his side, keeping up with Nico easily despite his heavy karate-bag.

“But I don’t feel like I can leave you out here now. I’m not kidding, I’d really like you to go home. It’s only a few hours earlier than you planned, right?”

“Well it’s not really up to you to decide whether to leave me here or not”, Nico spat.

“You know,” Will said after a few moments of silence, “no one’s gonna miss me until tomorrow, so you’ll have a hard time getting rid of me”.

Why could this guy just not get into his thick head that Nico didn’t want to go back? What part of that did he not understand? And why did he even care? If he went back now, he was quite sure they would not let him escape to his room just yet. They would ask so many questions, especially Mark. It was better if he locked himself in while they were at work, so he could settle in alone a few hours before they came home.

Suddenly, Nico stopped. They were on the street right outside his house. How had Will managed to chase him down here? Will stopped too and followed Nico’s stare to the white house. Nico wanted to keep moving so Will wouldn’t know, but his legs were locked to the ground.

“This is where you live, right?”

Nico kept staring at the house. The windows in the kitchen and living room were lit, lighting up patches of frozen grass outside. He sensed Will’s presence next to him, but still couldn’t move. That was until he felt a warm brush on his wrist and jumped away.

“Sorry”, Will said, looking a little embarrassed. He nodded towards the house. “Should we go?”

He took a few steps off the street and towards the entrance, and Nico was surprised to find himself going after him. They stopped on the porch and Nico looked through his pockets.

“Ah, fuck”, he exclaimed, earning a questioning look from Will.

“What?”

“Forgot the key”, he said, and reluctantly rang the doorbell.

They waited. Soon, Nico heard footsteps approaching the door, and Ann stood in front of them a few seconds later. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was, and Nico was soon wrapped up in a warm embrace.

“Nico! God, I’m so glad you’re home! We’ve been so worried, where have you been?” Ann was the only person Nico ever allowed to hug him, actually touch him in general. Still, he surprised himself by hugging back.

“Sorry”, he murmured.

She let go of him and sighed. Her smile disappeared when she studied his face.

“My God, Nico, you’re so skinny! When was the last time you ate? Never mind, just get in and have some dinner, it’s still warm”.

Her eyes found Will who stood a bit awkwardly next to Nico.

“Thank you so much for bringing him back. You want to come in and eat, too?” she asked, but Will shook his head and smiled politely.

“No thanks. I think I’m annoying your son and I better get home anyway”. He looked at Nico and laughed a bit.

“Ann, will you give us a minute?” Nico asked. Ann nodded and went back inside. Nico turned to Will.

“Uh, thanks”, he said. “You know, for everything”.

Will smiled.

“No problem”. They were quiet for a few seconds.

“Can I see you again sometime?” Will asked, much to Nico’s surprise.

“Wh-, uh, I guess… you could”, he stuttered awkwardly.

“Great”.

Will searched around in his bag to pull out a marker.

“Gimme your arm”.

Nico hesitated, but obliged. He tried not to flinch away when Will grabbed his wrist and started scribbling on the back of his hand. Will’s skin was warm, and the touch made something in Nico’s stomach move uneasily. When he was done, his hand lingered on Nico’s wrist for half a second too long before he let go.

“If you ever decide to run away again”, he said, “let me know. You can always crash in my apartment”.

Nico felt a rare smile play on his lips when Will turned, and walked off. He went inside and hurried to find a pen and note to scribble down the phone number before it vanished from his skin.


End file.
